


Merge

by ItsjustMads



Category: Durarara
Genre: Body-swap, Comedy, Drama, Dubious Science, Fluff, Kinda Weird, Living Together, M/M, Romance, Sharing a Bed, Shinra's an ass, cuteness, first fic, not gonna lie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-09 15:42:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12891159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsjustMads/pseuds/ItsjustMads
Summary: Shizuo and Izaya swap minds. A story of connection....Fuck summaries. Just read it to enjoy





	1. Change

  
Izaya knew something was wrong before he even woke up.

  
It wasn’t just the unfamiliarly lumpy bed under him nor the unrecognizable smell in the air; it was everything. Everything was just horribly, utterly _wrong_. Opening his eyes, Izaya vaguely saw the dingy walls with tearing wallpaper and overused furniture through the dim lighting of the tiny room. Before reality could hit him, a wave of nausea washed over Izaya, his heart pounding and stomach twisting and head aching. He rushed to what he could assume to be a bathroom, in a similar state as the bedroom, and threw up everything in his stomach into the toilet.

  
After what seemed like hours, Izaya gasped for both breath and lucidity. His head still swam but at least he could begin to think clearly. Just _where_ was he and _why_ was he here? Despite his delirious pondering, no answer came. The last he could remember, he was browsing through message boards looking for information for Shiki late at night before dozing off in his favorite spin chair. There was no explanation for waking up in this hell of an apartment.

  
Izaya sighed, and stood up shakily to stumble over to the chipped sink to scrub the sick off his face and hands. Finally feeling more human, he rinsed his mouth and glanced up at the cracked mirror.

  
Izaya froze.

  
The mouth in the mirror dropped open as Izaya’s view met honey-brown eyes.

  
After minutes of his swirling brain piecing things together, thinking of possibilities and plans and potentials, Izaya turned his gaze to the face in the mirror.

  
He smirked.

 

  
\---

 

  
Shizuo took much longer to realize something was off. Waking up, he felt more sore than normal, weird. Trying unsuccessfully to shake himself out of his sleep haze, he pushed himself up out of the ... _chair_? and into the bathroom and strangely large shower. Firmly deciding he was still halfway asleep, Shizuo showered and dried off with a fluffy towel conveniently placed on the rack outside. His groggy head began to clear all too soon. Shizuo was now getting the feeling that all was not well.

  
Shizuo stared down at his hands. Had they always been this small? _No_. They were pale and soft, free from the calluses and scars that marked Shizuo. He frowned. Storming over to the full-length mirror in the bathroom, he slowly wiped off the condensation.

  
Raven-black hair that was a stark contrast to Shizuo’s bleached yellow was the first thing he saw. Then the too-small nose, the thin lips, the high cheekbones, the thin face. What he saw last were the eyes: deep crimson, the dull color of dried blood framed by thin lines and long lashes.

  
Shock permeated through Shizuo’s brain, finally fully awake, _What- how- why_ \- ?? He couldn’t even begin to understand why _Izaya’s_ face was glaring back at him through the - _certainly_ _not_ _his_ \- spotless mirror.

  
Looking back, it was clear that this was not his run-down apartment and belonged to someone much richer than he. _Like Izaya_. Nothing made sense. He felt the familiar bubbles of anger pile up, resigned to wreck something, _anything_ to stop this insanity. And slowly, the developing rage melted away, leaving him with only frustration and a faint feeling of amusement. _Amusement_? As surprised as he was to actually control his temper, Shizuo was more startled by the emotion completely unlike him. _But then, he wasn’t in his own body anymore_.  
  



	2. It Slowly Sinks In

  
Izaya’s smirk did not fit Shizuo’s face.

  
The lines of the blond’s mouth stretched into an unnatural smile overlooked by a cruel glint in normally passionate eyes. His feelings of happiness and excitement soured. His sneer dropped to a glare, tightening the corners of his mouth and altering the expression to a much more Shizuo-like face.

  
Irrational anger built up in him. Who would do something like this? Who _could_ do something like this?

  
All he wanted was to find the bastards who thought they could play with his life and beat the shit out of them, make them regret ever being born.

  
Some small rational part of Izaya protested at this illogical reasoning that was so unlike him.

  
After combing through all the information of Ikebukuro he stored in his head, Izaya could narrow his search down to certain individuals that had the power to cause something this ...supernatural. Shinra, the underground doctor and his live-in fantasy girlfriend, Celty. The Slasher, AKA Sonohara Anri in possession of the cursed blade Saika. The Yodogiri Shining Corporation definetly has a grudge against Izaya and the resources to experiment with something like this. And then there was the mysterious information broker, Shinichi Tsukumoya that still managed to unnerve Izaya after years of interaction. Running the list through his brain, he decided to confront Shinra first, only because he was the quickest to reach and the most comfortable for Izaya to talk with personally, him being Izaya’s only real friend. That being decided, Izaya felt his mindless rage abate, _Ah~_ _this is what it feels like being Shizu-chan._

He frowned at the thought. Izaya had no interest in empathizing with a beast like-- a beast. Did this mean Izaya was no longer human? _No-no-no calm down, me. This is only temporary, just a fluke. This has nothing to do with my chances for Valhalla. I’ll just pop over to Shinra’s and let him fix things and it’ll be back to normal playing with gang wars._

  
Izaya sighed, then flinched at the unexpected loud, gruff-ness of the sound.

_  
The sooner this is over the better. Although it’s a shame to have the perfect chance to ruin the monster’s life, let’s not take risks, for once._

_  
Yes, everything will perfectly right in a bit and then I can send a few more gangs after Shizu-chan. Ohh how about I set him against the Awakusu-kai. Hehe sounds like fun~_

  
On this happy note Izaya pulled on the beast’s usual clothing and bounded out the door to find some answers.

 

  
\---

  
Shizuo wandered around the huge apartment aimlessly. His head still spun with the realization that this was _Izaya’s_ house and _Izaya’s_ clothes and _Izaya’s_ body. The last one was what got him. That, and the fact that his thoughts were seemingly affected by this change-- becoming more _flea_ -like.

Ugh, he couldn’t deal with this.

Deciding to distract himself, Shizuo sat down on the chair he’d woken up in and stared at the numerous devices and documents cluttered on the desk, as neat as they could be. Shizuo palmed through some of the documents, finding only information he didn’t understand that was doubtless used for nefarious purposes. He turned on the main laptop in front of him. Fingers instinctively typing in the password, the screen faded to a search engine with multiple tabs and pages open already.

Shizuo sighed and passively scrolled through them. As he had assumed, Izaya was evidently researching criminals for the Yakuza. Well as long as there was no one he cared about a fight could wait until their next meeting… “Oh _fuck_ ”.

  
Izaya. If Shizuo was in Izaya’s body… he struggled to avoid thinking about how much shit the louse could get him into if he looked like Shizuo

  
“Dammit.”

  
Shizuo could no longer dodge the issue, especially when the flea’s nasally voice sounded waaay too close to his ears. There was nothing for it, he had to see Shinra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know this was short, but I prefer many short chapters to break it up.  
> Next time: The two meet with Shinra. What will happen? Woooah.  
> Thanks for reading, please comment!


	3. Please Explain This

  
Kishitani Shinra opened the door and was met with the scowling face of Heiwajima Shizuo. This was not an unusual occurrence; the blonde showed up there several times a month unexpectedly, often involving some wound from fighting with gangs. Therefore, the underground doctor grinned and motioned for the tall man to come in.

  
“Hey, Shizuo-kun. What up?”

  
Izaya stepped through the doorway and plopped onto the couch.

  
“Shinra… I need a favor.”

  
“That’s not that unusual, did you hurt yourself again? You really should stop letting Izaya-kun work you up so much. I’m sure you two could get along if you tried to understand one another --or at least stop trying to kill each other.” The underground doctor spoke while anxiously scanning Izaya’s, or rather, _Shizuo’s_ body for wounds.

  
Izaya smiled wryly with Shizuo’s face. “Shinra, you know as well as I do that’s never going to happen. We simply hate each other. And no, I don’t have any injuries this time”

  
“Hm is that so. So what _do_ you need?”

  
Izaya began hesitantly, for once stumped on how to answer this question and possibly explain these bizarre events. “Well... it may sound impossible but it seems--”

  
The doorbell rang suddenly, making Izaya jump.

  
“Ah hold on, it could be an emergency. Celty’s still out so just wait here for a minute.” Izaya nodded before Shinra walked out of sight towards the interruption.

  
“Eh, it’s kinda a bad time right now, can this wait? I have another guest right now. You know…” Izaya could faintly hear Shinra quietly arguing with someone. Apparently that someone was persistent, and stalked inside past Shinra who was furtively muttering under his breath.  
As Izaya caught sight of the visitor, he froze for the second time that day. Logically, he knew he should have expected this, but no matter how obvious it was, it did not account for his brain’s surprise and astonishment at his own body staring back at him from a different perspective.

Amid Izaya’s turbulent thoughts a faint observation stood out. _Wow, I really do look good. As expected of a god like me, but it’s different to see how attractive I am from another angle like this._ Izaya appreciated his slim and pale good looks. _Hm but that expression is really not doing me any favors._ Izaya’s face was not scowling, exactly, but his brows were furrowed and they certainly held no trace of usual amusement.

  
“Shizuo-kun?” At the question Izaya snapped out of his revere, just now noticing the anxious doctor looking back and forth with panic.

  
“And so the crux of the problem has come.” Izaya grumbled. _Grumbled? How unlike me._

  
“You calling me a problem?”

Izaya's mouth sunk further into a full-on scowl. The Izaya in Shizuo’s body quickly felt an irrational urge to smack that dumb luck off his own face.

  
Izaya sighed. “Well as much as this has been intellectually stimulating for me, I am really done with this farce.”

  
“I should say the same.”

  
“Wait… huh?!” Shinra still looked back at them both, panic now mixed with confusion.

  
“You see, Shinra, do you know anything about mind-swapping?” Izaya asked, the frustration he felt safely locked away.

  
“Shizuo...kun…?”

  
“Aha see, I am not really your ‘Shizuo-kun’ as it seems there has been some sort of swap. I assume the same has happened in my body?” Izaya directed to himself.

  
Shinra just looked infinitely confused. The person wearing Izaya’s face grunted and spoke, finally.

  
“When I woke up I was in an unfamiliar apartment and in the flea’s body. I have no idea how this happened, but I bet it had _something_ to do with the louse.” The shorter man snarled.

  
“Shizu-chan, no need to be rude. I don’t _want_ to be in your broke-ass apartment let alone in your monstrous body.” Izaya stopped talking as he noticed the largely ignored Shinra. The doctor was staring at both of them with such fascination that Izaya swore he could see sparkles in his eyes.

Or maybe it was just his glasses.

  
“You bastard, I knew you had something to do with this.” Izaya swore, unusual profanities emerging from his lips.

  
“Fascinating. How utterly fascinating. Well Shi--I guess I should say Izaya-kun, I had  _no_ idea that something like this would happen.”

  
“So you _did_ cause something”  
Shinra’s face contained not an ounce of guilt at the accusation.

“My dearest and beloved Celty was worried about you two, especially Shizuo-kun. So I, with her assistance of course, decided to research a way for you two to get along.”

  
“And you really though switching our bodies would help us not hate each other?” Izaya sighed angrily.

"As I've said, I had no idea you were going to _switch_ _bodies_. I simply experimented with Celty's magic and my drugs to make you empathize with one another. I just _know_ if you can understand each  other, friendship’s not impossible. But this, this is incredible. Who could have imagined that you actually exchanged consciousnesses?”

  
Izaya did not share Shinra’s awe. “Yes, yes, congratulations. Now the important part is how can we switch back.”

  
Shinra fixed Izaya with a disapproving stare. “You don’t just ‘switch’ back. This is an incomplete transfer of consciousnesses, it is _far_ more complex than your fantastical ‘body-swap’.”

  
“Forgive me if I don’t give a shit about your terminology, so answer the damn question.”

  
“Well to put it simply: it’s impossible. Well mind transfers were impossible too so should I say: I don’t know, and I don’t know of anyone who would know.”

Izaya and Shizuo both gaped at him. No... way? There was no way to do it? Each had to be stuck with a body that wasn’t theirs for good?

  
“This is ridiculous. Are you trying to tell me I’m forced to live as Shizu-chan because of some sense of _compassion_? You had better find some way out of this mess, Shinra, or don’t think you don’t know what will happen…” Izaya threatened.

  
Shinra suddenly appeared very uneasy. “Izaya… I’ll try my best, though I honestly hold no hope. You will just have to live with it.”

  
“No, I _refuse_ to live with this--this monstrosity of a body. How the hell am I supposed to go to Valhalla if I’m no longer human?” Izaya cursed, startled by his ready admission of his future goals.

  
“Dammit Izaya I’m still as human as anyone else.” Shizuo spoke for the first time in a while.

  
Izaya sneered. “Finally decided to join the discussion Shizu-chan? I must admit I’m surprised you haven’t thrown something at me yet. Well I suppose there’s not much you can do without your inhuman strength.”

  
Shizuo sighed, and what little anger there seemed to drain away. “I haven’t thrown anything because it’s a bit hard to get angry at my own body, even if it’s occupied by a louse like Izaya-kun.”

  
This dismissal infuriated Izaya more than anything else and just _looking_ at that familiar face caused white-hot tendrils of rage to stir up in him. Izaya was distantly shocked at his strong reaction, but was in no state of mind to ponder on it.

  
“Dammit Shizu-chan I hate you! I’ll kill you!”

  
Shinra watched the familiar sight of Izaya { _wait that’s really Shizuo_ } piss Shizuo { _no, Izaya_ } off and the blonde going crazy to kill the raven.

  
“Are you sure you two really switched?”

  
The pair froze and turned towards Shinra.

  
“Well you’re just acting like your usual selves so it’s hard to tell~!”

  
At the murderous glares both of them gave him, Shinra nervously backed up. “Ah, I think Celty should be almost home, I’ll go and meet her outside.” Shinra ran towards the front door in hopes of escape. “Don’t break anything or I’ll make both of you pay for it!”

  
The silence that filled the room after the slam of the door was all-encompassing.

  
“So,” Surprisingly it was the Shizuo in Izaya’s body that spoke up first. “What are we going to do about this?

  
“‘We’? There has never been a ‘we’. And there never will be.” Izaya hissed.

  
“Well seeing as we’re both stuck in this mess there has to be, in order to find some kind of solution.”

  
The beast was trying to _reason_ with him. As if he had the intelligence or coherency to do so. The only two things that held him back from picking up the couch and chucking it at Shizuo were Shinra’s parting words and how that would make Izaya like the beast. He would never stoop to Shizu-chan’s level. _Never_.

  
“I’m going home.” Izaya turned and stalked out, fuming with barely contained fury.

  
“Wait- where- ?” Shizuo looked startled and confused, both awful expressions for Izaya’s face.

  
“To my apartment, obviously.”

  
“But look like, well, me. And won’t people…” Shizuo trailed off.  
Izaya sighed, annoyed that the protozoan was trying to debate with him. Especially because he was right. They had to deal with this somehow.

  
“Look--”

  
Whatever Izaya planned to say was cut off when Shinra entered the room with Celty in tow. Celty, clearly being filled in examined the both thoroughly.

  
[Is it true?!]

  
Izaya twisted Shizuo’s mouth. “Yes, most unfortunately.”

  
Celty seemed at a loss for words. Finally she typed on her phone. [Is this my fault? What are you going to do?]

  
“Of course it’s not your fault, Celty my love. You could never do anything wrong~” Shinra inserted unwelcomely.

  
“It’s fine, Celty. I don’t know what we _can_ do about this.” Shizuo responded to his friend.

  
“Hmmm well there is oooneee possibility~” Shinra smirked. Izaya perked up. “But no, of course it could never happen. Forgive me for even mentioning it.”

  
“Shinra!”

  
“Alright, alright Orihara-kun. But don’t blame me if you don’t like the answer.”

  
“Just tell us already.” Shizuo was unamused.

  
“See, the connection between you two is not complete. I imagine that only the decision-making part of the brain was affected, the frontal lobe, and possibly the hippocampus partially. This makes it so [Izaya] can basically control Shizuo’s functions, while the opposite for [Shizuo].”

  
“And so?” Izaya impatiently asked.

  
“Sheesh, stop interrupting. It’s terribly rude, you know.”

  
“As if I care. Get on with it. Being in a beast’s body is making me nauseous.” Shizuo furrowed his brows angrily.

  
“Well as a was saying, it’s not as if everything was switched. The mind is naturally formed to reject foreign influences-- such as hallucinogenic drugs or hypnosis, so your control of each other’s brains will probably fade with time. Eventually, the brain will remove your conscious entirely.”

  
“So does that mean we just have to wait?” Shizuo asked hesitantly.

  
“Hm well there’s a catch. If your body’s lose their consciences that control motor functions and thinking, there will not be anything to replace it. To put it simply, you will fall into a coma forever.”

  
“What the hell Shinra.” Izaya spat, taking a step towards the cowering doctor.

  
“Waitwaitwait-- here comes my brilliant idea! If you two stay very close, physically and mentally, then when the body reject the foreign consciousness, it might just transfer back into its original body.” Shinra spluttered.

  
“Sounds like bullshit to me.” said Shizuo.

  
“It’s all a hypothesis Shizuo-kun. But that’s all you have to go on right now.”

  
“Define this ‘closeness’ a bit more will you Shinra?” Izaya said, ignoring Shizuo.

  
“Well I don’t really know. Celty and I caused this to happen so you would understand and empathize with one another, so I imagine if you are able to achieve that, you can return to normal. Physically, I suggest that Shizuo-kun stays at Orihara-kun’s apartment for the time being.”

  
Izaya gaped. “The beast… at _my_ apartment? He’d ruin it in an hour.”

  
“I’m not that temperamental.” Shizuo looked wounded. 

  
[It’s the only choice you have. Just try to get along. Both of you.] Celty interjected for the first time.

Pushing them to to door, the Dullahan typed on her phone and displayed it. [Call Shinra if you have any problem. We’re happy to help as long as you make an effort.]

  
“Oh and while the decision-making parts of your brains are affected, much of it is not. Emotions, instincts, behavioral patterns all belong to the original body. Take care~!” Shinra called from inside while Celty shut the door in their faces.

  
Izaya slowly dissected Shinra’s last titbit of information. So the weird reactions he was having were due to Shizuo’s normal state. _Emotions_ … Izaya examined his body on the doorstep next to him. _So this is how Shizu-chan feels about me._ To his surprise, the majority was not rage, although it as certainly there, but frustration. Frustration, annoyance, rage, and other feelings so twisted up even Izaya couldn’t untangle them. He fought the urge to giggle at knowing the monster's heart, until he realized the second part of Shinra’s information. The exchange goes two ways. _So if I know what Shizu-chan is feeling, that means…._

_  
Fuck_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, another chapter. Sorry but this is all I'm posting for today ;)  
> I know this is a lot longer, Shinra talks WAY too much. xD
> 
> What's Izaya so worried about? We shall see....
> 
> Thanks for reading and please comment below! <3


	4. This Can't Be Right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay~ another update!  
> Hope you enjoy!

Somehow, they had ended up walking towards Izaya’s apartment in Shinjuku. Shizuo followed behind Izaya, grateful for the unusual silence. He really needed to clear his head. He pondered over the last few hours, from when he entered Shinra’s place.

  
Seeing his own body was strange. His mind was unable to process the existence in front of him. The man who looked exactly like him. No, he _was_ him. Shizuo’s head started to hurt.

  
But this wasn’t the strange part.

As soon as Shizuo made eye contact with his body, he was overwhelmed by the sensation of all his blood rushing to his head. His heartbeat sped up and he felt heat spread throughout, to his fingertips. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the honey-eyed blond. Breaking eye contact suddenly seemed as impossible as throwing a vending machine. Not that he hadn’t done that before.

  
_No way. Why am I attracted to my own body?_ Shizuo had never experienced anything like this. He certainly wasn’t aroused by seeing his own body in a mirror. _Aroused…._ Shizuo fought to keep his facial expression under control. Luckily, the flea’s face was much less expressive than his own, as he would have been read like a book as himself.

  
His own body was saying something, the malicious words clearly confirming that it was the flea in his body. At the sound of his voice, part of him cringed while another part shivered in excitement.

  
_Dammit why is this happening? I’m not into fucking selfcest! Is it because it’s Izaya? Nonono definitely not. Why did I even think of that!! Fuck this!_

  
Shizuo struggled to keep his composure and replied automatically to Izaya’s taunts. He barely heard Shinra’s explanation and let Izaya do all the talking for him. His mind was in turmoil. It gave him a headache.

  
_Why am I thinking so much about some stupid reaction? The right thing to do is just chuck something at the louse, chase after him, and call it a day. But I can’t do any of that, since I can’t throw anything, I can’t chase after myself, and at the end of_ _the day, I’LL STILL BE IN IZAYA’S FLEA BODY!!!_

  
He couldn’t even get angry at the person he was staring at, even though he _knew_ it was Izaya, he only felt this weird attraction.

  
And suddenly, he found himself kicked out of Shinra’s house along with Izaya, with instructions to stay at the flea’s house. Instructions that he couldn’t even protest with his distracted thoughts. He needed to get out of this fucked-up situation fast. But it seemed the only solution was to become closer with Izaya? _Impossible_. He’d rather live like this his whole life than understand what went on in the louse’s crazed mind. _Okay, maybe not when I’m having reactions like these. But still!_

  
“Oi, Izaya” Shizuo couldn’t believe he was the first to speak.

  
Izaya sighed, clearly annoyed. “Does the dumb beast know how to speak after all? It’s a miracle. They should put you in a circus. Actually that’d be my body in there so I’d rather not. I know how performers treat godly bodies like mine.”

  
“Dammit Izaya you don’t have to be so testy.”

  
“I’m surprised you even know what that means. What is it, don’t waste my time.” Izaya snapped.

  
“I just wanted to ask, is it ok if you’re --I mean-- _I’m_ seen walking to your house?” Shizuo corrected.

  
Izaya huffed. “No I suppose it’s not. Ikebukuro would erupt if it got out that I followed Shizu-chan to my home. As much as I would love to see my human’s reactions, we can’t have that now.”

  
Izaya swerved, suddenly, out of the alleyway they were walking into one slightly more open.

  
Shizuo quickened his pace, only somewhat struggling to keep up with Izaya’s long strides. In any case, Izaya was fast. His body was lighter than Shizuo’s and his leg muscles were well developed. Along with his quick reflexes, Shizuo could see how Izaya managed to evade him in there chases throughout the years.

  
The flea rushed into a small clothing store, motioning for Shizuo to stay outside and wait. He stopped abruptly mid-stride, and ran back to Shizuo to stand directly in front of him. Shizuo tried to not inhale his own scent of cigarettes and failed. His body welcomed the warmth of another presence so close to him, and the tingling began again, stronger than before.

  
Izaya stretched his hand forward and reached into the furry black coat that Shizuo was wearing. After fumbling for a moment, he withdrew what must be Izaya’s wallet.

  
“You’re so poor I doubt you have enough money to afford any clothes without the kindness of your dear brother.”

  
Shizuo ignored the taunt, as Izaya’s hand brushed his in the process of extracting his wallet. He repressed a gasp as the skin-on-skin contact sent white-hot tendrils of warmth skittering down his body. His heartbeat thudded in his ears and he suddenly felt dizzy.

  
Izaya pouted at the lack of reaction (which looked very strange with the blonde's face), and spun on his heel to re-enter the store.

  
Shizuo took deep breaths, using the meditation techniques he learned in order to calm his anger to clear his mind. They hardly worked when he was in a rage, but they did now, to an extent. He was grateful for Izaya’s absence, the cause of all this.

  
All too soon, Izaya returned. He had clearly changed clothes in there, now wearing a black hoodie, the hood pulled over his head to hide the bleached hair, and skinny jeans. Shizuo couldn’t help but admire the different look.

Izaya as Shizuo walked differently. It wasn’t really noticeable to anyone else, but the blond now moved with uncharacteristic grace, almost like a cat. Shizuo supposed Izaya had always been graceful, thinking back to high school days. Even when Izaya was running for his life, he never stumbled or tripped, just elegantly danced away.

  
The casual clothing was different to what he usually wore. The skinny jeans especially. Shizuo found his gaze wandering down the muscular thighs and slim calves... _NO! What am I doing! Stop appreciating your own body already!_ Shizuo scolded himself and tore his attention away. Ignoring his swirling feelings, he glared murderously at a brick he was standing on.

  
“Shizu-chan... did that brick do something to offend you?” Izaya asked in amusement.

  
“Shuddup Izaya-kun. Like you care.” Shizuo growled at the brick.

  
“You’re right. I don’t. But we’re going now, so get your face out of the ground and come on already.” Izaya began to walk away, pointedly not looking back.

  
Shizuo followed, _definitely_ not looking at his ass, carefully outlined in those jeans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shizu-chan is really dense isn't he? ....yeah he is.
> 
> Sorry nothing really happens in this chapter. Next time we'll have some progress, finally!
> 
> Feedback is praised and appreciated!


	5. Dealing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, that went quicker than expected. Another chapter hurrah~~!

 

The rest of their ‘journey’ passed in complete silence. Izaya deliberately resisted checking behind him, determined to show no signs of weakness. _Thank god, it looks like he hasn’t realized it yet. Seems like someone wasn’t listening to Shinra, the brute._ His heart constricted at the thought of his greatest enemy finding out his weakness. He had spent eight years repressing it and it now might all be for nothing because of that bastard Shinra.

Pushing the negative thoughts out of his mind, Izaya choose to believe in the dense, protozoan Shizu-chan that wasn’t intelligent enough to decipher Izaya’s genius brain. Or Shinra was lying… but he has no reason to do so, right?

It was completely dark by the time the pair reached Izaya’s apartment in Shinjuku. Izaya quickly typed in the 5-digit passcode, shoved Shizuo inside, entered himself, and slammed the door behind him. He then proceeded to tear off his new clothing and fling it to some corner, before stomping up the stairs. He grabbed what he needed from his room and turned back to stand on the top of the stairs. Izaya flung the spare pair of loose sleepwear at the brute who still stood motionless. Shizuo caught the clothes and looked up at him questionly.

“It shouldn’t be that hard for even protozoans to figure out. These are my clothes, change and sleep. You sleep on the couch, obviously.” Izaya pointed to his favorite cushy coach downstairs.

“What? Don’t you have a spare room?” Shizuo was finally showing some anger.

“No, I don’t usually invite people over for slumber-parties, Shizu-chan.” Izaya giggled, ecstatic to provoke the beast.

Shizuo growled, the noise coming from Izaya’s mouth made it seem more like a purr, and gave up. He took the projectiles with him into Izaya’s bathroom.

Not wanting to wait for more awkward conversation, Izaya went ahead into his own bedroom to sleep first. He calmed himself by thinking of Shinra’s note that if either of them died, the other would as well. So the beast wouldn’t try and kill him in his sleep. Probably.

\---

Upon waking, the first thing Izaya though was that Shizu-chan didn’t kill him after all. The second thought was that he was still in the beast’s body. He glanced at his phone that he stole from Shizuo last night for the time. 6:47 am. Not too early, but early enough to have some time before Shizu-chan awoke. Izaya didn’t want to admit he kept track of the blonde’s sleep habits, but now it came in handy.

Pulling himself into the bathroom, Izaya decided to take a shower. He wondered how often the beast cleansed himself, but now that Izaya was in control, it will be every day. Izaya was slightly germaphobic, after all.

He turned on the hot water and stripped down. He suddenly realized that yesterday, he had been so shocked that he didn’t even appreciate the advantages of being Shizuo. Smirking, Izaya approached the full-length mirror to examine every inch of Shizu-chan’s body.

Shizuo was definitely muscular, but his muscles didn’t stand out or bulge especially, but were compressed, in perfect harmony with his slim body. None of his muscles were more defined than others, like a weightlifter, instead being altogether fit. Shizuo was proportional in every part, from his developed calves to his abdominals to his biceps. It was just so _perfect_.

Izaya giggled to himself as he ran his fingers up and down Shizu-chan’s chest. For all his high pain tolerance, he was surprisingly sensitive. The Izaya in Shizuo’s body pinched one of his nipples, experimentally, and trembled as his entire body shuddered. Unable to hold back in his excitement, Izaya finally ripped off the blonde’s underwear to expose his flaccid dick.

_Wow.  
Shizu-chan is even bigger than I imagined._

He giggled again, thinking of all the pranks he could pull now. _Maybe I should shave his pubes? Heheh Shizu-chan will kill me~_

Right as he reached for a razor, Izaya heard movement from downstairs. _Damn, of COURSE the beast changed his schedule now._ Deciding to forgo the shower (and mischief) for now, the now-blonde pulled down clothes and hopped down to meet his beast.

“Flea, we need to talk.” Shizuo immediately confronted Izaya.

“Ohhh Shizu-chan is that a break-up flag? Or perhaps a confession? I can't accept those feelings sorry~”

Shizuo spluttered, looking completely flustered, red spreading up to his cheeks; a nice contrast with the pale skin and dark hair. “What? N-no! Can you please stop?!”

_Shinra wasn't lying after all… shitshitshitshitshit_

“Well since the beast said please…. what do you want to talk about hmm?” Izaya covered his inner turmoil.

“Izaya… are you okay? You're kinda pale.”

Izaya jumped. _Damn that beast for having such an honest face. N-no not honest, foolish. Foolish and stupid._

“No, I'm perfectly fine, thanks for the unwelcome concern.” Shizuo looked skeptical, but continued.

“We need some rules, to deal with this… change.”

“Hoh? Like what?”

“Most important: we should each agree to not mess with each other's bodies. No tattoos, hair dying, etc.”

“Tch.” _Why does he ruin all my fun?_

Shizuo glared. “See, I knew you were tempted to do something! The minute you mess with my I'm going straight to a tattoo parlor to get ‘FLEA’ written on your forehead!”

“Ehhh Shizu-chan’s so meeeeaaaaaan.”

“Next, we don't let anyone know about this. I don't want to worry my family, and I know you have to protect your reputation or some shit.” Shizuo continued, ignoring Izaya’s whines.

“Geh I suppose those are reasonable enough. Fine then, I agree.”

“Hold on, there's one more. I get to sleep in your bed with you.”

Izaya’s jaw dropped. “Why the _fuck_ should I do that. You'd strangle me in your sleep!!”

“No, I can't anymore. Think about it, Izaya. Shinra said something about proximity being the only way out of this. Is there any better way than being together all night? It's not like I want to do this either, you know.”

Izaya was no longer able to form coherent words.

“Besides, it's not my body that's gonna be sore and cramped from sleeping on your couch, right?”

That, more than anything, did the trick.

“Fine. Now I have some work to do on my computers, so if you would be so kind as to shut up and watch some TV or whatever protozoans enjoy, that would be lovely.”

Izaya huffed and stalked over to his desk, watching as the former-bartender blinked and walked out of the room. His gaze trailed on his own lithe body moving on its own and the bizarreness of the situation took him again.

_Just how am I supposed to deal with this?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh for some reason I love the idea of Izaya admiring Shizuo's body in the mirror. Not even sexually, necessary...
> 
> No promises for the next chapter release-- school sucks :( 
> 
> Thanks for the support!!!


	6. It Goes Two Ways

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi~ miss me? XD   
> This one isn't pretty short, unfortunately, but I'll have the next one up probably by the end of the day!

Shizuo didn't know what came over him. _Why did I ask that shitty flea to sleep with me? Oh right, cause he's not a shitty flea anymore. And that's… not right. It's not like I miss normal Izaya or anything, it just feels… weird._ Shizuo shook out the word lonely that tried to appear, because that was _definitely_ not right. He gripped the bathroom sink a bit harder.

_And sleeping with Izaya? No, not Izaya, I'm Izaya. So then I'll be just sleeping with myself._

_What the fuck! That sounds so perverted!_ And perverted thought were not what he needed when he was still reeling over his own ass.

It was really lucky that Shizuo possessed none of his usual strength, otherwise the sink would have shattered into a million pieces by now.

\--

The day passed in complete silence, the only noise being the constant clicking of Izaya’s keyboard. Shizuo had already texted Tom-san to ask for a few days off work (luckily he had quite a bit saved up) and was currently engrossed in a Sherlock Holmes novel from the Izaya’s bookshelf.

Izaya was finding it difficult to concentrate. Sitting still and typing all day was more challenging than ever before. Hell, he didn't even have anywhere close to the typing speed Izaya was proud of.

Manipulating humans was boring.

This thought scared Izaya more than he cared to admit.

But, personal feelings aside, work was work. People needed their information, and Izaya needed his paycheck. So Izaya forced himself to work on his assignments, even if he felt he did less quality work than before.

The sky grew dark, and Izaya realized he hadn't eaten anything all day. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but Shizuo's stomach was clearly used to three meals a day.

“Shizu-chan~”

The smaller man looked up from his book. “What?”

“Mind going out and getting us some food?” Izaya gazed into his own crimson eyes, noting the lack of anger in them. _Wow, I never noticed how red they were from a mirror. No wonder people say they are freakish._

“Er, will that be okay?” Shizuo looked uncertain at the prospect of going outside.

‘ _Er’? What kind of non-words are coming out of my mouth!?_ “Sure, of course it will. After all, no one besides Shinra would think up this kind of fucked up situation.”

Shizuo chuckled, or tried to. Instead, he giggled in Izaya's voice. “That's for sure.” He rose from the couch. “Then, see you later.”

“Oh and take this.” Izaya tossed a few bills at himself.

“Thanks.” Shizuo smiled at him, and left. It wasn't a sarcastic smile, like the ones that were usually on Izaya's face, but a genuine, honest smile. One that showed his gratefulness. It surprisingly didn't look out of place on his face, and was only unnatural for its rarity.

Izaya's heartbeat sped up rapidly. He felt his face turn completely red as the desire to run out and chase his body across the city forever and ever just to see that smile again swelled in Izaya. He actually got up and took a few steps towards the door before he forcefully stopped himself. Of course, the desire wasn't Izaya’s ( _someone_ remembered what Shinra said), but Shizuo’s.

_Does this mean that Shizuo has been chasing me for eight years not out of anger, but out of some sick wanting to see me smile?! That's ridiculous. No, it's too soon to assume things. Shizuo’s feelings are more jumbled up than I expected, based on his outwardly straightforward demeanor. I'll just have to continue with what I know best: observation._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the plot thickens~ huehuehue
> 
> Please comment! Suggestions, concerns, questions, you know the deal. :)


	7. Adjusting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this was a bit later than planned...

  
Shizuo shivered. It was _cold_. Did the flea not have any body heat at all? No wonder he wore that stupid coat all the time. Shizuo wished he had thought to grab it before he left.

Plus the walk was _long_. Shizuo never realized how long the flea had to walk to get to Ikebukuro to mess with him. The only times Shizuo made this trek was when he was furiously running and payed no attention to distance. It took him at least an hour to walk to Russian Sushi. Because of course this was the only thing Shizuo knew they'd both enjoy.

And that hour lengthened when he was attacked by some thugs.

The four men formed a circle around him, in some alleyway notably absent of people.

“Oi oi, that's Orihara Izaya, right?” Hooligin 1 asked Boss Hooligin.

“Of course it is, dumbass. Did you think we wouldn't recognize you if you weren't wearing that stupid-ass coat o’yours?” Boss Hooligin directed to Shizuo.

“Heh, time for some payback.” Hooligin 2 approached, sneering.

“You put me in the hospital.” Hooligin 1 resentfully glared at him.

“I didn't do shit.” Shizuo said flatly.

“Yeah right! You said that Heiwajima bastard was all bark and no bite!”

“I don't know what you're talking about.” Anger built up in Shizuo.

“Don't try and play dumb, you bastard!” Hooligan 3 pulled out a knife and waved it around. “We've got you now!”

“Is ‘bastard’ the only way you know how to insult someone? Idiots.” Shizuo mocked the thugs. He wished he had a cigarette to crush right now.

“Why you little-!” Hooligan 3 stepped closer to the black-haired informant.

“Hey now, let's not get worked up so much.” Boss Hooligan gestured at the others. “After all, Orihara is trapped and at our mercy.”

“Oh yeah?” Shizuo smirked and stepped over to the stop sign placed conveniently nearby. Grasping it with one hand, he yanked it out of the ground like usual.

Except he didn't.

_Fuckkk why is the flea so fucking weak?!_

The thugs just looked at him, speechless.

_As much as it pains me to flee from weaklings like these, there's no choice, I gotta run._

Shizuo turned around suddenly, taking the crowd by surprise, and dashed in between Hooligan 1 and 2. He heard the pounding of feet behind him, as Boss Hooligan shouted, “After him!”

Izaya was a lot lighter than him. In fact, he was so light that Shizuo had trouble keeping his balance while running. Luckily, his instincts and muscle memory corrected his footing well enough.

Squeezing into small alleyways, leaping over trash cans, dodging around crowds; all done automatically, as the flea’s body was used to being chased. Shizuo was actually impressed with himself for being able to keep up with Izaya on their regular chases, even though he never caught him.

He lost the thugs a few blocks before Russia Sushi. _That flea has too many enemies! Why does he even mess around_ _with gangs?! For some perverse sense of amusement, no doubt. Wait, they said something about me… fuck that louse for sending thugs after me! Why can't he just leave me alone_? He ignored the nagging voice in his head that asked why he didn't just leave Izaya alone.

“I'm gonna kill him when I get back.” Shizuo spoke aloud.

That decided, Shizuo entered Russian Sushi.

\--

Meanwhile, Izaya was having some difficulties.

The worst was the craving. Izaya felt it from the beginning of the day, but it had grown steadily worse until now. His hands were actually shaking, making it even harder to type. _Fuck that protozoan for such an unhealthy addiction. I can't stand the smell of smoke and now I have to crave it?! No way in hell am I falling for this_.

The second problem was the man knocking on his door.

The man didn't knock for much longer, and just opened the door and walked in, uninvited.

“Orihara-san, are you feeling alright? We can't have our most valuable informant getting sick now. Your last report made us a little worried, see… Ah."

Shiki of the Awakusu-kai came face-to-face with Heiwajima Shizuo.

“Heiwajima-san, what a surprise. Is Orihara-san in?”

_Calm down, calm down, act like the protozoan. Put the dumbest expression on my face. Talk like an idiot. I've observed the brute enough to do this right? Oh and grunting, don't forget the grunting._

Izaya grunted. “Doesn't look like it.”

“Hm. Do you know when he'll be back?”

“How should I? But when he does, I'll kill him.” Izaya attempted to mimic Shizuo's glare of hatred.

Shiki coughed. “I'm afraid we can't have that. As much as I've… ignored your little chases, we need our informant alive and healthy."

_Craaap, I really don't want to get into a fight with Shiki-san._

“Don't worry, I'll leave his hands when I beat him to a pulp. That way, he can still work, right?” Izaya suggested, internally wincing.

“I suppose that's all we can hope for. Well, do tell him that I came by.”

_Shiki-san! I'm so betrayed! Leaving me to the mercy of the beast, how horrible! Do you only want me for my skills? ...What am I thinking, of course he does._

Izaya grunted again, and the man walked out.

Izaya immediately deflated in relief as soon as the door shut. _T-That was close_. He shivered to think of the consequences if Shiki thought he was being tricked.

_But what brought on this unexpected visit?_

Izaya went to his desk, again, to check the emails he sent to Shiki-san. _Well shit_. The information was jumbled, disorganized, and even had some typos. Typos! Izaya never had typos in his entire life!

Izaya groaned and banged his head upon the desk. _I need my original body, now! And I still am craving cigarettes!!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stuff happens yay! 
> 
> Thanks for reading, feel free to comment and judge my story below xD


	8. Awkward Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY! I know it's been a while ;-;  
> I was planning to update this, but you all know how it goes...  
> Anyways, here's an extra long chapter in return for the long wait! I think this is a record! \o/  
> Enjoy the fun~

 

A knock sounded, and Izaya opened the door to find a very grumpy himself. Shizuo trudged in and set the take-out containers on the counter.

“How was it? Did Simon give you a hard time?”

Shizuo shaked his head, looking nothing but tired. “No, he was out on a delivery. No one realized anything. I got attacked on the way there, though.”

That explains the tiredness. “Oh how terrible. It must've been _so_ hard for Shizu-chan to run away from a fight.”

He scowled, and glared at Izaya for a while. “What about you?”

“Oh no, everything’s just peachy~” Izaya bluffed.

“Damn flea, don't lie to me.” Shizuo sighed, sounding exasperated.

_Fuck Shizu-chan and his open face!_

Izaya furrowed his brows in anger. “How come you don't have a poker face, Shizu-chan? It's so inconvenient.”

“Because I don't lie to anyone."

 _Really?_ Thinking back on it, Izaya could not think of any time the brute lied, not that he knew of. Yes, the beast was always brutally honest, starting back from his ‘I don't like you’ from their first meeting, ruining their relationship and breaking his…

“So?”

A voice shook him back to reality.

“What?” Shizuo was looking at him expectantly, his crimson eyes glowing slightly.

“Were you even listening? Damn flea.” Shizuo sighed and asked, “So what happened while I was gone?”

“Are you concerned for me well-being now? How sweet~”

“Idiot.” Shizuo muttered, still waiting.

“Just… my employer, I guess, the executive of the Awakusu-kai, Shiki, stopped by.”

“Did you…”

“No, of course I didn't tell him, he just saw me as you, and left.”

“That's good… but why did he stop by anyway?

Izaya sighed and tried to hide his embarrassment. Obviously not well. “Ehm, well, he saw some… errors in the report I sent him and was concerned.”

“Pfft.” Izaya’s own eyes crunched up with genuine laughter, and it was a look that Izaya both loved and hated.

“Don't laugh! You protozoan, why can't you even perform such a simple skill as typing?!” He shouted, indignant.

“Sorry, but I don't have a desk job.” The brute was still holding onto his amusement.

“Well you do now.” That got Shizuo to stop laughing. At long last. Izaya was not sure how his own laughter made him feel, but he didn't care to find out. “I can't do any work if the quality of going down, so you'll have to type everything for me. Think of it as paying rent for my apartment.”

Izaya could see the internal debate going on in his red eyes before he spoke.

“Okay, but you'd better pay me for it.”

“You do realize, you're in _my_ house, eating _my_ food, and using _my_ body?”

Shizuo looked a little uncomfortable. “Geez, okay whatever.”

Izaya smiled, finally satisfied to one-up the brute. “Tomorrow, I'll teach you everything you need to know then.”

Shizuo grumbled some more, and opened the boxes of sushi. “How many people have it out for you anyways?”

Izaya reached over to grab a piece of ootoro. “Who knows. They're all scum, though. Ew, this is disgusting!” He spat out the half-chewed bite.

The other chuckled, “Well yeah, I don't like ootoro. You can have some of the other sushi-- I got my favorites.” He slid the other box over to Izaya. It contained a variety of sushi that, while smelling awesome, were not his ootoro. 

“Of course a beast would lack refined taste buds.”

“Shut up.”

They ate their meal in silence, Izaya deciding to lay off for once in favor of food. The sushi was irritatingly good. It almost made him forget his longing for tobacco. _Almost._

After finishing, Izaya cleaned up and prepared for bed. Mentally and physically. _It's okay, I’m stronger now. If he tried something I'll just beat him up._ He told himself to calm down, but his heart refused to obey his mind. Shizuo remained seated, looking distracted. The silence was deafening.

A phone rang.

Izaya jumped, and Shizuo looked startled. It was Izaya’s phone. He picked it up and cautiously answered it.

“Hello?”

“Shizu--ahh no, Orihara-kun?”

“Ah, Shinra. Care to check up on us after ruining my life?”

“Don't be so dramatic now, it should go back to normal soon enough. Speaking of which, how's it going?”

“Swimmingly.” Izaya did not attempt to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

“Wow, that's new, to hear sarcasm in Shizuo’s voice.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Anyways, did anything happen? Something to make you go back…”

“No nothing.” Izaya said flatly.

“Hm really? Something should have happened by now. Maybe you're not close enough?”

“Sorry Shinra, it’s hard for me to even talk with the dumb brute.” Across the room, Shizuo narrowed his eyes in anger.

Shinra sighed through the phone. “Really now? If you hate it so much I would expect you to try a little harder.”

Izaya tried to ignore his only friend’s disappointment. “I _am_ trying. It's just… hard.”

“Well at this rate you'll be suck forever. If that's okay for you, I don't care~! See you!” The call ended.

Izaya scowled and set down the phone. He glared at his enemy, who looked mildly curious of the call.

“I'm going to bed.” He turned on his heel and stormed upstairs to his king-sized bed. He heard Shizuo slowly follow him.

Jumping into the bed, Izaya curled up under the blankets. “If you touch me you’re dead.”

Shizuo looked highly offended. “As if I'd want to.” He said before lying down on the other side.

There was more silence for a few minutes before Shizuo spoke up unexpectedly.

“Izaya…”

“What?” He asked, annoyed.

“Are you… er… gay?”

 

 _Where did_ that _come from?_

 

 _Oh right._ Shizuo was in his body, feeling what he felt. He cursed himself for forgetting. Even Shizuo wasn't that stupid not to notice. “None of you business, Shizu-chan. Now let me sleep.”

But to his annoyance he didn't drop the matter than.

“Pfft."

“What?!” _Stop giggling like me, dammit!_

“It's just, you normally would have said something like: I love all humans equally~, but you didn't, so I'm right.”

Shizuo was really getting to know him well. _Of course he would, he's in my body!_

Uncomfortable with the subject, Izaya ended it. “Let's just say I love all humans, but I am sexually attracted to males. Got it? Now shut up.”

Hearing nothing but silence in return, Izaya half-wanted to see the other’s face, Shizuo’s back towards him. It was the first time he's ever told anyone something so personal. It made him feel… vulnerable. Izaya did not like feeling vulnerable, not ever.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. “Shizu-chan?”

“...Huh?”

At the sound of his own voice, drowsy, calm, and gentle, he completely forgot what he was going to say.

“Do you never lie because you're too stupid to trick people?” Izaya blurted out.

“What?” Shizuo stirred in annoyance. “What the fuck, flea. I don't lie because I don't have any reason too, obviously.”

“Hm.” Izaya thought over this for a second. “But you're not denying the stupid part.”

Shizuo huffed. “Yeah, yeah, well, you're in that stupid brain of mine, aren't you? How does it feel?”

Izaya growled, and yanked the blankets away from Shizuo.

“Hey!” Shizuo reached for the stolen warmth.

“Too bad.” Izaya easily evaded the brunette with Shizuo’s longer arms. He had to admit, it was slightly convenient.

“Dammit, it’s so cold! It's your body that’s getting cold, you know!” He desperately grabbed izaya’s arms, but his own strength was too much for him.

“Yes and it's also my blanket.” Izaya grinned wickedly.

Needless to say, neither of them slept that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how was it? It was really dialogue-based this time, hope you all don't mind. >~<  
> I also hope I'm not overusing Izaya's POV, next time it will change.
> 
> Up next: Shizuo has a revelation, and Ikebukuro's strongest pair are very sleep-deprived.


	9. A Moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuckk, I'm the worst... sorry >-<  
> Senioritis is really getting to me... gah I'm sorry  
> But, don't worry, I fully plan to finish this... sometime
> 
> Finally got some action going whew. plooooot  
> Enjoy~

“Shizu-chaaaaan…” Izaya drawled. 

Shizuo sighed at the fourth interruption in ten minutes. He carefully mixed the eggs in the pan and added a sprinkle of salt. The flea's kitchen was certainly bare, but at least there were some eggs for breakfast. Who knew why  _ Shizuo _ was making it, though. 

“Shizuuuu-chaaan~”

He growled and slammed the spatula down on the counter. Luckily the louse was weak as hell, so it didn't break. “What the fuck do you want?!”

“Shizu-chan shouldn't be so rude, not after keeping us up all night.” Izaya seemed way too pleased at getting a reaction. 

“What the fuck, it was only because  _ you _ kept hogging the blankets.” Shizuo sighed, exasperated. 

“But you're a beast, so you shouldn't need any, right?” He shifted his legs where he sat on the couch. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever flea.” He took the best course of action by ignoring Izaya while serving their breakfast. 

“Ughh fucking finally.” Izaya cursed and spun over to the table where he yanked his plate towards him. Immediately devouring the food, he glared up at Shizuo. 

“What?!” Why was the flea being this obnoxious? It was even worse than usual. 

“Seconds.” Amber eyes stared into red ones demandingly. He absolutely refused to think it was cute. Yeah, no.

“I made you this much, if you want more, make it yourself.” Shizuo frowned. 

“Fuck you, Shizu-chan!” Izaya slammed his hand on the table. Staring at the sudden mood swing, Shizuo examined his own body more thoroughly.  

Bloodshot eyes with dark circles underneath, clenched teeth, trembling fingers…  _ oh.  _

Upon his realization, Shizuo abruptly stood, grabbed his coat and shoes, and headed out the door, ignoring the protests behind him. 

 

\--

 

_ What the hell was that? _

Izaya pushed his chair back from the table, balancing on only two legs. How strange, instead of getting mad like always, the beast simply walked off. Was this a method for anger management? How pointless. Why start now?

But anyways, he was really hungry. Ravenous, even. Was this just the protozoan’s usual diet? How could he even live with such a meagre salary and this appetite? 

Izaya groaned and slammed his head into the table. It made him feel mildly better, until his headache came back again with relish.  _ This goddamn nicotine craving! _ Having to deal with a withdrawal on top of Shizu-chan, who was really bad enough, was torturous. It felt like hell; this was Izaya’s worst nightmare that he couldn’t even be entertained by due to the protozoan’s lack of brain cells. Not that the collision with the table helped. 

At least the beast wasn’t there now….

As soon as that thought formulated, the front door swung open. Izaya cursed and checked the clock. Shizuo had already been gone for ten minutes, but it felt like mere seconds. 

All too soon, the gentle thumps of his feet were heard, and Izaya saw his own face enter the kitchen. Shizuo looked… apologetic? It was such a bizarre expression on Izaya and he had no idea how to feel about it. Orihara Izaya, the infamous information broker of Ikebukuro, who played with humans’ lives on a daily basis, sorry? As if. 

“Here.” Shizuo muttered, tossing a cheap plastic bag on the table in front of Izaya. 

He stared at it for a few moments, unsure of what to do with it.

“Open it, idiot.” Shizuo spoke in that quiet voice still, avoiding eye contact deliberately.

Izaya hissed at being insulted, but slowly grasped the bag, feeling out the edges of a small box. “Shizu-chan, did you get me condoms?” He lowered the item. “So sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t think they’ll be necessary.” Izaya raised his eyes to smirk at Shizuo.

“ _ What? _ No! What even-- Just--” Shizuo went red, stuttering for words. “Why do you have to be so damn  _ difficult _ ?” 

“I can’t help it, God made me this way~”

“Don’t lie, you don’t even believe in God.” Shizuo snorted, still mostly red.

Izaya paused. “How do you know that?” He asked curiously. Izaya might have said it once or twice to Shinra, but he couldn’t remember ever declaring his beliefs to Shizuo. That was far too personal for any of their interactions. 

Shizuo blinked. “...How should I know?” Oh right, the switching thing. Izaya almost forgot. Remembering now… made him slightly uncomfortable. 

Izaya hummed a bit in response, and fully uncovered his present. Immediately, his expression dropped. Nicotine patches. The brute had gotten him  _ nicotine patches _ . He twisted his head around to glare at his own face. “ _ Nicotine Patches _ ?! What the fuck, Shizu-chan?!”

Shizuo looked startled at his violent reaction. “It’s hard to go without smoking. I would know.” He shrugged.

“Did I  _ ask _ for help? Do I look like some kind of charity case?!” Izaya spat, rising to his feet.

Shizuo stepped forward, anger seeping through embarrassment. “No, you  _ look _ like  _ me _ ! That’s  _ my _ body you’re abusing with your stubbornness! Why are you so against the patches anyway?!”

“As if I care about your monstrous body!” Izaya shouted, stepping even closer.

“You’re insufferable!”

“I hate you!” Izaya grabbed Shizuo by the front of his shirt and easily lifted him so they were face-to-face, glaring into each other’s eyes in malice.

As they stared, each panting in exertion, something changed. Izaya found himself drawn into those crimson orbs, unable to look away, searching in those depths endlessly. Traveling though one ring after another, Izaya reached the innermost circle, a sphere of light that widened and he raced by, only to see another pair of eyes, this one not deep red, but amber, a honey-brown that warmed him even as it burned. 

Suddenly affronted with intense double vision, Izaya swayed, losing the strength to hold Shizuo aloft, dropping him onto the floor where he crumpled down. Izaya swiftly followed suit, sinking, unable to stand. His head hurt like hell. Shizuo raised his face, looking almost as pained as Izaya felt. The image of the pale face in front of him overlapped with the image of Shizuo’s face, swirling and blurring and giving him motion sickness. At some point, his view steadied, and he was overcome with emotions, feelings that he never really quite felt before. There was the sensation of  _ togetherness _ , of  _ connection _ , of all his loneliness throughout his twenty-two years of life dissipating into the air like mist on a hot day. Their sight was shared, as well as all their other senses. He was somehow both able to see the blonde and the brunette, the protozoan and the flea, both at the same time. He could hardly tell which was which; from whose eyes he was looking out of. But it didn’t matter. They were  _ them _ ; one entity; one being; two halves of a whole. 

“ _ F-fuck _ .” Shi-Izaya spoke, abruptly shattering the silence. Did he speak? Or was that the other one? Was he the tall blonde, or was he the short, pale man? 

That deep state lasted for another few seconds until it was altogether too much for his senses, overloaded with too much input, and he broke away from the contact. Gasping for air, he wrenched his gaze away from the red eyes and stayed there, grasping for any coherency. 

The first thing he felt was the loneliness crash back over him, twice as miserable for the moment that it was gone. Izaya felt like he had lost a piece of himself; something important that would never return. Choking down the regret, he examined himself. He was still in Shizuo’s body. Disappointment spread through him, it seems it would take even more to  be back to normal. The strange double vision was gone, leaving him with only a splitting headache.  

Shizuo, too, was coming back to lucidity. He looked just as frazzled and confused as Izaya. “W-What the hell?”

“What… just happened?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys thought thus couldn't get any more confusing? Ha! Well guess what?
> 
> Ugh I gave myself a headache writing this.  
> So yeah, shit happens.  
> Now I'm gonna drink some water and mope around. fuck
> 
> Thanks for reading, plz comment, even if it's just to scold this lazy-ass author >>
> 
> EDIT: Do I curse too much? Yes, yes I do.


End file.
